_ We're meeting the challenge.

A message from Thom Thompson, ee
president and chief executive officer,
Insurance Corporation of British
Columbia.

For ICBC, and for BC drivers,
1998 was a year of encouraging
progress.

We are now into our fourth year
without a general Autoplan rate
increase, We calculated in 1996 that an
aggressive focus on road safety would reduce

_ accident claims enough to make a rate freeze
economically possible. So far, so good - we ©

have realized a significant reduction in claims,
which in turn has allowed us to invest even more
money into new or expanded safety initiatives

and to return money to our customers in the

form of a road safety dividend.

These safety initiatives continue to have a

Thom Thompson

positive impact. Death and injury
claims declined in the past year,
as did auto crime and insurance
fraud. We found a lower proportion
of people driving while impaired, —
or speeding. The bottom-line result
was that we experienced 10,000
fewer claims in 1998 compared
to 1997. |
Can we continue to keep
premiums down? We can — but only if BC drivers
continue to respond to our efforts to help

reduce risks on the road. Reducing the number:

of crashes is what keeps premiums down
forallofus. .

ICBC employees, our Autoplan broker partners
and our customers have shown over the
past two years that they are equal to the task.
With their continued commitment, we will
succeed in meeting the challenge.

ICBC IN 1998:
Our investment in safer

roads Is paying off.

_ICBC’s mission is to help British Columbians
take the risk out of road transportation. To.
that end, we spent $95 million on road safety
programs in 1998. Our efforts to combat
drinking-driving and speeding, to take unsafe
vehicles off the road, to combat car theft and
insurance fraud — all of these are investments
which provide a significant payback in both
financial and human terms.

The payback? There were 10,000 fewer
injuries were down. That meant fewer British
Columbians had to go through the pain and
trauma of a car crash.

With claims costs down, we were able to
continue our rate freeze for a fourth straight
year. More than that, we returned $47 million
to policyholders as a Road Safety Dividend -
on top of increased discounts for our RoadStar
claim-free drivers.

We're moving closer to the community.

- Our merger with the Motor Vehicle Branch
means we offer a wider range of services
than ever. Now we're changing the way we do
business, to improve our customer service.

We've moved decision-making closer to the
“front lines? where we interact with customers.
To drive the change, we appointed six regional
Assistant Vice Presidents (AVPs) to be
accountable for local service delivery.

: | Each AVP’s responsibility
is to ensure a high tevel of
service to our customers in
that region, across all five
of ICBC’s lines of business:

q Driver Services, Insurance
services, Road Safety
Services, Commercial Vehicle Services, and
Claim Services.

North/Central Region is led by Dale
Bumstead, who was born and raised in Dawson
Creek and joined ICBC as an adjuster at the
Fort St. John office in 1975, Later, as manager
of the Dawson Creek office, Dale played a
key role in helping to implement the Community
Based Customer Unit model which was piloted
in the North in 1997. Dale will split his time
hetween Dawson Creek and the new regional
office in Prince George.

Dale Bumsitead

We're making gains against
~ auto crime and fraud.
_-Far too much money is being bled from
the system by car thieves and fraud artists,

1
i
i
'
'
'
t
'

costing each honest policyholder hundreds of
dollars a year. ICBC is getting tougher on auto
crime, and in 1998 launched criminal charges
and civil actions in several high-profile cases
of alleged insurance fraud.

The continuing fight against auto theft was
aided by the new Dedicated Auto Theft Task
Force launched by the Attorney General, and
an expansion of the community-based Stolen
Auto Recovery Program. We also encouraged the
use of anti-theft devices by offering customers
a premium discount when they purchase an
approved device,

Auto crime was. down 12% from 1997,

accident claims in 1998, Traffic fatalities and ~-thanks in part'to' these initiatives. ;

Police and ICBC crack down
on aggressive drivers.

Speed kills. That's why ICBC, in partnership
with the BC Attorney General, is funding a
stepped-up police presence to curb aggressive
driving in high-risk traffic corridors. In 1998 we
targeted 28 locations, with police handing out
nearly 90,000 tickets and 31,000 warnings.
This year’s campaign will expand further,
involving 37 locations around BC.

Photo radar is a key tactic aimed at
prompting BC drivers to slow down. In
September 1996, shortly after photo radar
came in, 47 per cent of all vehicles passing
the radar cameras were exceeding the posted
speed limit. By the end of 1998 that figure
was down to 25 per cent.

Red light cameras, field tested in 1998 for
implementation in 1999, are expected to have
a similar impact on intersection safety.

ICBC research
leads to safer roads.

We need to develop new strategies in road
safety and recovery management. That's why

First Prize ~ a BC Lions Game
Package for 2, including:
« 2 platinum tickets to a BC Lions

Mail your entry to: ICBC Room 240, 151 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, BC V7M 3H9

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 2, 1999 - B7 ICBC3

ICBC in 1998 launched SMART (Strategic
Monitoring and Assessment of Research in
Transportation), a two-year research program
in collaboration with BC’s post-secondary
institutions and private research bodies. Its

of $1.3 million will include $500,000 in
grants to fund an estimated 15 to 20 individual
research projects. .

We're helping British Columbians
. recover from crashes.

ICBC works closely with health care
specialists, disabled persons advocacy —
groups and other partners in the rehabilitation
field, with the goal of helping peopie who have
suffered disabling injuries to rebuild productive
lives. In 1998 we signed a two-year agreement
with the National Institute of Disability
Management and Research to support the
Institute’s disability management training —
program based in Port Alberni. Early in 1999,
we co-sponsored a major world conference in
Vancouver on the treatment of whiplash injuries,
and announced a $100,000 contribution to
Support medical research in this important area.

CounterAttack is
getting impaired drivers
off the road.

Police roadchecks targeting drinking drivers
were up substantially in 1998. The program —
now runs from late May to early January.in
every city or large town in BC. This is made ~
possible through increased police participation,

_ directly funded by ICBC.

_, The campaign showed the benefits of
highly visible enforcement. Last year a record
5,17 million motorists passed through an
ICBC-funded roadcheck — almost two million
more than in 1997. Yet the percentage who
warranted criminal charges or 24-hour
roadside suspensions was the lowest yet.
BC drivers appear to be getting the message:
don't drink and drive.

We're improving our
. customer service. .

ICBC continually looks for ways to make
it easier for our customers to make a claim.
In 1998 we extended our telephone claims
service to every part of the province. In early
1999, we launched “24/7” claims service,
making us accessible 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, from anywhere in BC.

Our driver licensing operations also
improved its service. A 25-day waiting list for
road tests was cut to zero at all driver services
centres. Driver knowledge testing procedures
were upgraded, using automated technology
to ensure fairness and consistency, with the
capability to do the test in languages other
than English, ns .

Footbal! Game (value $80) Name
+ Accommodation for 2 at the Georgian

Court Hotel {regular room, based on

Address:
double occupancy, value $205) vee

ay

« Alriine tickets for 2 to Vancouver from
anywhere In BC (value up to $1,000)

» Autographed BC Lfons Football °

Pesta Cale

" Skilltesting question: How long has ICBC been'in business? -

Bs “Daytime Prone. . ws : . 7 [

Second Prize » Electronic vehicle antl-theft device, including Installation (value $350)

Please mark envelope BC Lions Contest. No purchase required but entrants will ba required to answer the skii-testing question above. Ali entries must
be pas(marked no later than June 21, 1999. Winner will be notified by phone one week after contest closes, Entrants must be 19 or over, Chances.of

obtained by writing ta [CBC Public Alfairs, Room 516, 151 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, BC V7M 3H9.

winning are based an the nurnber of entries. Employees and immediate family are excluded from entering the contest. A’copy of contest rules may be